


Old Enough

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Age Difference, Assistant Coach Kageyama, Kageyama is 21 and Hinata is 17, M/M, Slight Underage Relationship, So they have a four year age difference whoops, Third-year!Hinata, all the first-years are now third-years basically
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-15
Updated: 2015-03-21
Packaged: 2018-03-13 03:26:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3365969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first thing Hinata sees when he walks into the gymnasium is a older boy practicing, with a huge crowd of impressed faces around him. Surprisingly, it isn’t the dark hair or tall, lean body that tells Shouyou that the older boy is the stranger from the park from back in March, but it's his amazingly quick serve. </p><p>“It’s the old pervert from the park!” Hinata screeches, and that’s when all hell breaks loose.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooo yeah im sorry in advance
> 
> this story is kinda inspired by the song "18" by 5 seconds of summer but im not a 5sos fan coughs yeah no im not coughs no
> 
> anyway this is gonna have an erratic update schedule b/c i want to make the chapters decently long and those take a while to crank out so ill update when i have time

It was an unusually hot day in late March, the sound of squeaking sneakers all around Hinata as the Karasuno team completed their last practice of the school year. People around him laughed excitedly, talking loudly about their plans for their next school year as they practiced, or, for the third-years, speaking worriedly about starting university. 

Hinata Shouyou wipes the sweat off of his face with the sleeve of his shirt, looking at his current practicing partner Yamaguchi with an intense stare from his position on the other side of the net. Tadashi shoots Hinata a nervous smile, putting the volleyball underneath his arm to call out to the shorter boy. 

“This is the last one, okay?” He calls, cupping his hands over his mouth as he speaks so that Shouyou can hear him. Shouyou nods distractedly, hyper-focused on the ball. _I have to receive at least_ one _of Yamaguchi’s jump float serves, I won’t give up until I’m able to receive them perfectly._

As Hinata is going through his mental pep talk, Yamaguchi throws the ball into the air and begins to move. Hinata’s eyes snap up, eyes completely focused on the volleyball as it comes soaring his way. He holds out his arms, getting in an absolutely perfect position to receive it and… 

It lands a foot away from him. Sniggers erupt from next to him, and Hinata spins on his heel to glare at the smug face next to him. 

“Lets face it, you’ll never be able to receive Yamaguchi’s serve. You can’t even receive a normal serve.” Tsukishima says, his voice as condescending as ever. 

Hinata’s face flushes as his face twists in a snarl. “Shut up. The only reason you’ve been a starter these years is because you’re grossly tall.” 

“And the reason you’ve never been one is because you’re a talentless _shrimp_ -” 

“Okay!” Yamaguchi exclaims loudly, appearing between them seemingly from thin air. “That’s enough practicing for now. Hinata, don’t take Tsukki’s words to heart. You’ll be a starter for sure next year! We’re going to be third-years!” 

Yamaguchi’s words fly straight over Hinata’s head, as the words _”talentless shrimp”_ bounce around in his skull. Sure, he’s always known that he’s not too good at recieves, and his height wasn’t exactly ideal for volleyball, but to hear those words be spoken out loud while everyone else tiptoed around saying them to Shouyou made all the energy drain out of him. 

“Yeah.” Hinata repeats slowly. “We’re going to be third-years.” 

Third-years, the top of the team, the senpai’s that everyone has to respect. _You’ll be a starter for sure._

But, being a third-year won’t guarantee being a starter. If Hinata couldn’t improve his skills, he will have gone his entire high school life never being a starter for Karasuno. He’s worked hard, practiced day and night, but not much seemed to change. It was as if he was missing something important, that a puzzle piece hasn’t come into place yet. 

Hinata’s ripped out of his thoughts as Coach Ukai calls out for them to all come together. He trudges over with everyone else to gather around the coach, staying some distance away from Tsukishima. _He’s probably the biggest jerk alive,_ Shouyou thinks to himself grumpily. 

Once everyone is together and silent, the coach begins to speak. “It’s been a good year, and everyone did very well. Next year we will prepare harder for Aobajousai and everything they could throw at us, and beat them.” Everyone nods, determination clear on their faces as they recall Karasuno’s devastating loss to Aobajousai. “The third-years will be missed, but we can also hope to get some hard-working first-years. This is not the end of the line for Karasuno, we will improve and we will become better.” 

Shouyou quickly loses attention, looking at the other members of the club as they listen to the coach’s motivational speech. His eyes eventually drift towards Nishinoya, Tanaka, and Ennoshita, looking at the coach sadly. Hinata feels a pang of sadness hit his chest as he watches them, thinking about how their last day with the club has come so fast. They were extremely kind to him, trying to help him improve, treating him as an equal…

“Moving on, though, I have some exciting news.” The coach begins, and Hinata’s eyes find his way back to Coach Ukai. Exciting news? “There will be a college student interning here next year, and he will be your new assistant coach. He’s a former member of the team, and is a genius at volleyball. I expect that you first and second years will treat him with proper respect.” 

Hinata deflates as a chorus of “yes, sir!” erupts from the team. An assistant coach? _That_ was the exciting news? He tunes the rest of coach’s speech out, and finally, they are dismissed. After some tearful goodbyes from the third-years (which may or may not have involved some hugs and tears on Hinata’s part) Shouyou walks to the gate, grabs his bike and begins his long ride home. 

It’s dark by the time he reaches the halfway point between the school and his home, the sun beginning to set behind the trees. A breeze stirs up, but Shouyou doesn’t notice the cold. His mind is running a hundred miles per hour, flashes of memories with the third-years from his days so far attending Karasuno. How could he possibly fill those shoes? How could he call himself a senpai if the first-years coming in may be better than him? 

He puts the brakes on his bike abruptly, breathing heavily due to a mixture of anger and stress. He can’t continue like this. There needs to be improvement, he needs to get better, he needs to become _invincible_.

Hinata ends up stopping at his house to pick up a volleyball, shooting a mumbled “I’ll be back soon, Mom!” to his worried mother, and rides quickly to the park a mile or two from his house that recently got a new volleyball net. He locks up his bike in the bike rack, the darkness and time not bothering him as he runs to the net and begins to practice. 

Hinata throws the ball up, attempts to spike it, and misses. He continues this again and again, until his frustration begins to build up. After countless failed spikes, Hinata begins to feel the cold, feel the numbness and disbelief within him. The volleyball feels like a freezing rock in his hands, like a tool that he’ll never be able to properly use. The numb and the cold suddenly melt into red-hot anger, and Hinata slams the volleyball so hard on the ground that he’s almost scared it broke. From his mouth spews every curse word he’s ever learned and every hateful statement he’d ever heard his classmates giggle about over lunch. He’s almost _stamping his feet_ by now, throwing the biggest tantrum in his entire life at seventeen years old, tears of absolute frustration forming in his eyes. Finally, after a few more minutes of stomping and raging around, Shouyou is finally reduced down to pathetic sniffles, picking up his volleyball from where he threw it violently to the ground. He turns it around, checking the damage done to it, when a voice sounds from behind him. 

“That was some meltdown.” A slightly amused voice states from behind him, and Hinata _squawks_ in surprise, drops the volleyball again and whips around so fast he almost trips over his own feet. A tall man stands behind him, around college age, with very dark hair falling into his eyes and an overall terrifying aura around him. 

Hinata flushes with embarrassment and fear, stepping back and stuttering out a shaky “S-shut up, old man! You weird p-pervert!” 

The stranger’s eyes widen for a fraction of a second, before he scowls deep with embarrassment. “I-I’m not a damn pervert, you brat! I’m also not an old man! What are you, a middle-schooler?” He snarls back, and Hinata scoffs in anger. 

“I’m a third-year in high school! Well… soon to be third-year.” 

“Well you look and _act_ like a twelve year old.” 

“Well _you_ look and act like a shitty old man!” 

They’re both full out scowling at each other at this point, and Hinata tries to swallow down his fear. The old man was pretty good at looking scary. 

The stranger looks down at the volleyball on the ground then back up to Shouyou. “Are you angry because you suck at volleyball?” He muses, staring at Hinata in a condescending way that reminds him way too much of Tsukishima. 

“S-shut up! You don’t know anything about volleyball!” 

The stranger's eyebrows shoot up, amused. “Really?” He starts walking towards Hinata and picks up the volleyball the shorter boy dropped before, holding it directly in Hinata’s face and making the boy flinch. “Do you want to bet?” 

Hinata scowls deeper and opens his mouth to retort that _no, he doesn’t want to gamble with a gross old man_ , but the stranger beats him to it. “If you can receive my serve, I’ll give you a thousand yen. If you can’t, you give _me_ a thousand yen.” 

Shouyou is painfully aware that he can’t receive for his life, but maybe it’s the cold or the smirk on the strangers face that makes him spit out a defensive “Fine!” into the taller boy’s face. 

They take their positions on opposite sides of the net, and the stranger sheds his jacket, bearing a sports jersey from a college in Tokyo that is known for it’s talented volleyball team. 

Hinata suddenly has the sinking feeling that he’s going to be one thousand yen short very soon. 

The older boy throws the volleyball in the air, much like Yamaguchi’s jump float serve, and Hinata immediately gets into the receiving position. He watches as the stranger’s hand connects with the volleyball, and then feels a cool burst of air on his face as the ball whizzes past his face faster than he could blink. 

The volleyball slams on the ground with an almost deafening sound, leaving an eerie silence in its wake. The stranger’s smug face from the other side of the net is all he can see, and without thinking, he yells “One more!”

The taller boy scoffs, his scowl returning. “Why would I spend my time serving to a shitty brat who can’t receive for his li-” 

“One more!” Hinata repeats, voice rising. 

“I’m not going to-”

“One more!” Hinata repeats once more, determination echoing his words. 

“Fine! You dumb brat!” 

The stranger serves the ball again, and it whizzes past his head again at a speed Hinata has never seen. 

“Amazing.” Hinata breathes, staring at the ball that was just slammed onto the ground. “That serve is amazing.” 

The stranger sputters, red rising to his cheeks, and Hinata backtracks. “Y-you’re not amazing! Just that serve! You’re still a gross old pervert!” 

“ _I’m not a pervert_!” The stranger angrily yells, and grabs his coat and bag from the ground, trudging away. Hinata watches his back as he disappears into the dark, grumbling curses under his breath. 

Shouyou stands there, stunned at the taller boy’s sudden departure, and finally looks around him. It’s almost pitch black outside, and the streetlamps illuminating the street yellow gives the silent neighborhood a creepy look to it. Hinata quickly races back to his bike, unlocking it, mumbling to himself that he doesn’t want to find an _actual_ pervert at this time of night. When he finally makes it back home, his mom gives him a long lecture which Shouyou does not pay attention to, he takes a bath, and finally sneaks under the blankets at an insane time at night. The last thing he thinks about before he drifts asleep is the stranger’s amazing serve. _I want him to teach me that serve_ , Shouyou tiredly thinks before he falls into a dreamless sleep.

\----

On the first day of school in April, after a spring break filled with practice and trying not to think about the stranger he met, Hinata is late for school.

He forgets to set his alarm clock the night before in his excitement to start his third-year, and wakes up an hour late. He barely makes it to the entrance ceremony, breathing heavily from biking hard and running while the principal talks on and on about the new school year. He gets more than a few weird looks from the students around him, but he ignores them. Today is the first day of his third-year, where he will be a senpai in the volleyball club. Plus, the new assistant coach starts today, Hinata thinks hazily, before he pauses. 

Didn’t Coach Ukai say that the new assistant coach used to be part of the team? Maybe it was Suga-san, or Daichi-san, or even Asahi-san from when he was a first-year! Shouyou bounces on his feet, even more excitement filling him. Maybe his old senpai’s will help him improve! 

This is all Hinata thinks about throughout his first day of class, and fidgets in his seat until it is announced that class is dismissed, earning annoyed glares from his classmates. Shouyou packs up his new books as quickly as he can manage, and practically runs to the gym where volleyball practice is held. However, it seems as though he’s not the only one who wants to get there early, as he sees the many new faces of the first-years, and the familiar ones of the second and third years. 

He spots Yamaguchi and Tsukishima walking together, and runs over to them to greet Yamaguchi warmly and completely ignore Tsukishima. The irritated face that the taller boy makes at his lack of acknowledgment gives Hinata smug satisfaction, and the three of them walk into the gymnasium together. 

The first thing Hinata sees when he walks into the gymnasium is a older boy practicing, with a huge crowd of impressed faces around him. Surprisingly, it isn’t the dark hair or tall, lean body that tells Shouyou that the older boy is the stranger from the park from back in March, but it's his amazingly quick serve. 

“It’s the old pervert from the park!” Hinata screeches, and that’s when all hell breaks loose.

The stranger turns when he hears and understands Shouyou’s outburst, and runs forward to grip his hair angrily, tugging so hard that Shouyou makes a pained noise. 

“I’m not a _damn pervert_!” He roars, and Hinata manages to breaks free of his iron grip and pat his aching scalp. 

“Yeah you are! Dumb old man! You’re the assistant coach?!” 

“I didn’t know they allowed _shitty dumbass brats to join the volleyball club_!” 

“What the hell is going on?!” A new voice yells, storming over to them. Coach Ukai glares at both of them, leaving the two frozen in fear. “Kageyama! You’re twenty-one, act like it!” he growls, and turns towards Hinata. “Hinata, go over there with the other third-years!” 

Hinata scurries off as quickly as he can, hiding behind a wide-eyed Yamaguchi and leaving the entire gym in absolute silence. 

“Everyone,” Coach Ukai begins gruffly, looking into the still-shocked faces of the volleyball club members, “welcome to the Karasuno volleyball club. I am your coach, Ukai Keishin. And he,” Coach Ukai gestures to the stranger from the park, “is interning from the strongest college in Tokyo. Meet your new assistant coach, Kageyama Tobio.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this was a little short
> 
> thank you for reading! if you see any errors, please tell me


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm really really sorry about the super late update. 
> 
> honestly, i went back to this fic today, thinking about deleting it. i wasn't sure i actually wanted to go through with writing it. 
> 
> then i saw all the kudos and views and subscriptions it had, even though it's only had one chapter, and it kind of refueled me. i'm gonna finish this thing, i swear it. i'll try to update faster next chapter! 
> 
> so, this chapter is kind of boring, but hey, this fic has to work up to the romance okay? this is the introduction stuff so we know whats gonna happen. 
> 
> anyway, please enjoy! again, im sorry for taking so long to update

After Coach Ukai introduces the new Assistant Coach, things go more or less back to normal. 

New and old club members are still shooting Shouyou strange looks as Coach Ukai tells them to begin practice, probably because he called Kageyama an _old pervert_. They all probably think Kageyama _is_ an actual pervert, which gives Hinata smug satisfaction. 

The Coach told them to practice in pairs today, which was a bit of a problem for Shouyou. It seemed that everyone else was in pairs already, mainly because Shouyou spent time thinking about how great it was that the club members now thought that their new assistant coach is a pervert instead of trying to find a partner. 

Scanning over everyone in the gymnasium, dread begins to form deep in the pit of Hinata’s stomach. He was the only one left without a partner. In the back of the boy’s mind, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Kageyama’s hissed out: _That’s karma for calling the new Assistant Coach a “pervert” in front of the entire club._

_Shut up, Kageyama,_ Hinata said to his own mental imitation of Kageyama, which was an incredible new low for him. He looked around, trying to find the actual Assistant Coach, and found him speaking calmly with Coach Ukai. As much as Hinata dreaded interacting with Kageyama again, he needed a partner, one that can help him improve. Though the new assistant coach had the worst personality Hinata has ever come across in his life, he had to admit that the taller boy had serious talent. Plus, he needed to talk to him about what happened back in the park. 

Nodding to himself, Hinata walks over to where the coach and Kageyama are speaking in low tones, and puts his hands on his hips in a perfect imitation of Tanaka, his former senpai. 

“Assistant Coach Kageyama.” He begins, the words tasting sour on his tongue. It almost physically _hurt_ him to call that jerk a coach. “Would you practice with me? I need a partner.” 

Kageyama’s eyebrows scrunch up together, and his face twists into a harsh scowl. 

“Are you an _idiot?_ ” He hisses out, regardless of Coach Ukai standing right next to him. “I’m a damn _coach_ , not a fucking practice partner!” 

Hinata scowls back, his stance not changing. “There’s nobody left to practice with in pairs, so it wouldn’t hurt you to step down from your _throne_ and come practice with one of the members of the club you’ll be coaching.” 

Kageyama physically flinches at the word _throne_ , and Hinata’s almost scared he went too far. But before Kageyama can open his mouth to call him every bad word in the Japanese language (possibly some in different languages, too; Kageyama looks like the crafty sort of person that would do that) Coach Ukai steps in. 

“I guess it would be good to become familiar with some team members.” Coach Ukai muses, looking on in amusement at their glaring match. “Hinata is a third-year, too. He’s going to need to show a good example for the first and second-years.” 

Hinata grins in triumph as Kageyama sputters angrily. “B-But, but Coach-” 

“Just go!” 

Kageyama scowls, grabbing a ball from the basket of volleyballs as well as a handful of Hinata’s hair, dragging him to a spot in the corner where they could practice. 

When Kageyama lets go of his hair, Hinata shoots upright, rubbing his aching scalp. “Ow! Why do you do that?! Do you have some kind of hair-pulling kink you old _perv-_ ” 

“Shut up, dumbass!” Kageyama yells angrily, cutting him off. He sets the ball quickly in Hinata’s direction, and the shorter boy sets it back to him just a second before it would hit him square in the face. 

“What’s your problem?” Hinata shoots back, glaring at Kageyama again. “I just wanted to talk!” 

“I don’t want to talk to you, dumbass.” 

Hinata ignores his words. “Why were you in the park that night?” 

“What is this, an investigation?” Kageyama spits, his scowl growing even deeper. “I don’t need to tell you anything.” 

“That’s fine, I’ll just tell everyone you were there because you love watching little boys pra-”

“I live near the park!” Kageyama cuts him off, seething with anger. “I was going to practice there when I saw your dumb temper tantrum.” 

Hinata flushes with embarrassment at the mention of his breakdown, but continues anyway. “Why would you practice late at night? That’s creepy.” 

“Why were _you_ practicing late at night?” He instantly shoots back.

“Because I got home from school. What’s _your_ excuse? You’re off of classes in college now if you’re able to intern here, right?” 

“You don’t know that, dumbass!” 

“Tokyo is more than an hour by car from here. There’s no way you’d be able to-” 

“There’s kids there during the day that use the net, okay?! I don’t want to practice with them there!” 

“Why, though? Since you’re a damn _pervert_ , you should like little-” 

“ _If you call me a pervert one more time, I’m going to strangle you!_ ” 

Kageyama looks seriously angry now, so Hinata decides he should probably stop calling him a pervert, just so the old man doesn’t pop a blood vessel or something. 

“Jeez, sorry.” He mumbles, and they both are quiet for a while, setting the ball back and forth. 

Hinata breaks the silence. “I still owe you a thousand yen. Y’know, for the bet.” 

Kageyama’s scowl breaks for a second, a surprised look flashing across his face. _He looks a lot better when he’s not scowling,_ Hinata thinks quickly, then wants to vomit soon after thinking it. 

“The bet?” Kageyama asks, then frowns. “It’s fine. I didn’t expect you to be able to receive my toss, anyway. I never wanted any money.” 

Hurt rises up in Hinata’s throat, making it tight. “So you never even gave me a chance?” 

Kageyama rolls his eyes. “I was watching your attempts at spiking. You couldn’t even hit _one_. Of course I knew I’d win the ‘bet,’ if you could even call it that.” 

Hinata is silent, and Kageyama has just enough brain cells to know that he offended Shouyou. Before he could open his mouth to apologize, though, Hinata begins speaking. 

“I’m giving you that one thousand yen.” He states firmly, looking at Kageyama with a challenge in his eyes.

The taller boy’s scowl is back in place. “Hey dumbass _shrimp_ , I told you that-” 

“I’m _giving you that one thousand yen!_ ” Hinata repeats, his voice so shrill that many heads turn his way. 

“Fine!” He snaps, and they go silent again. This has to be the most awkward practice of Hinata’s life, and he keeps glancing at the clock to count down the minutes until it’s over, but there’s still more about Kageyama that Shouyou wants to know. 

“Why are you interning here?” He asks, breaking the silence once again. 

“What is this, ‘Twenty Questions’? I used to go to this school, dumbass.” 

“No, I mean, why are you interning in general? Don’t you want to be a professional athlete?” Hinata asks, his eyebrows scrunching together. “You don’t need to intern to become an athlete.” 

Now it’s Kageyama’s turn to be silent, and Hinata was about to say _forget it_ when the taller boy finally replied. 

“I don’t do well on teams.” Kageyama states, avoiding Hinata’s eyes. “They only keep me on the college team because I’m good. I doubt any national team would have me. So I decided I’ll become a coach.” 

_Well, that was uncharacteristically honest,_ Shouyou thinks to himself, but he doesn’t think he minds the honest answer. 

“Oh.” Hinata says, not knowing what to say. “Well, being a coach is cool too.” 

“Yeah.” Kageyama replies shortly, and they go back to silence. 

This time, Kageyama is the one that breaks it. “There’s a lot of good first-years.” 

Hinata blinks, looking around the gymnasium. However, Kageyama is right. Shouyou notices a lot of promising first-years, ones taller than him that look like they’ve been practicing volleyball for a while. The shorter boy’s stomach begins to churn, making him feel queasy. His worst fears are being confirmed, he can’t live up to being called a senpai if his kouhai are better than him. 

“What’s wrong with you?” Kageyama asks, a hint of disgust in his voice as he takes in Hinata’s nauseous expression. 

Hinata swallows hard, forcing down the feeling of sickness. “Nothing. You’re right, there are some really good first-years here.” 

The Assistant Coach eyes him, suspicion still in his eyes, but instead of hounding him more about the way he looks, he asks, “Who is your captain this year? There’s only three of you third-years, right?” 

“Yeah.” Hinata says, still focused on not puking. “Um, Yamaguchi is the captain of Karasuno now. It wasn’t really an issue choosing him, Tsukishima and I aren’t exactly ‘captain’ material.” 

“Tsukishima.” Kageyama repeats, looking surprised. “There was a boy with that name in the club back when I was on the team. Do you know if this Tsukishima kid has a brother?” 

“I don’t know, and I don’t care. Tsukishima is a huge jerk.” Hinata says grumpily. “But, um, Kageyama?” 

“What?” 

Hinata pauses, an idea forming in his head. Before he can stop himself, he blurts out, “Your toss is really amazing.” 

Kageyama’s face turns an interesting color of red. “I-I know that already, dumbass! Stop embarrassing yourself!” 

“Shut up! It’s just…” Shouyou pauses, his idea expanding in his head. “How did you get so good?” 

“Well, it didn’t happen overnight, dumbass. I trained really hard, and I got good.” 

The shorter boy frowns. “I practice day and night, and I never get any better.” 

Kageyama snorts. “Maybe it’s because you’re destined to suck at volleyball.” 

_God, this guy really does have the personality of a piece of rotting garbage,_ Hinata thinks as he practically seethes, anger filling him up. _How can someone possibly be so rude?_

“You’re a really huge asshole, you know that, right?” Hinata spits out before he can stop himself. 

“And you know you’re a huge fucking dumbass, right?” Kageyama shoots back, just as angry. 

They’re extremely toxic for each other, and Hinata knows that, but he needs Kageyama’s talent. So before he can back out of it, he asks, “Kageyama. Coach me. Help me get better, please.” 

There’s a long silence after he says that. All Hinata can hear is the squeaking of gym shoes filling the air, while Kageyama’s face twists into twenty different expressions at once. 

“ _Coach you?_ ” He asks calmly, and Hinata instantly fears for his life. “That would be…” 

He trails off, and this time a totally different expression fills up Kageyama’s face. Interest. 

Shouyou almost wishes the fury would come back onto his face instead. 

“That would be fine.” Kageyama finishes. “You want to get better, right? I can help you do that.” 

A puff of air escapes from between Hinata’s tightly pressed lips. “Why did you agree? What’s in it for you?” 

Kageyama’s eyebrows shoot up. “What? You don’t think I’m doing this out of the kindness of my heart?” 

When Hinata says nothing in reply, the taller boy rolls his eyes. “Coach Ukai will give me a good report if he sees me doing something like coaching you. If I can get you from the way you are now to a starter, he’ll write me a really good recommendation letter. Then, maybe I can coach for a _good_ team like Shiratorizawa.” 

Despite Kageyama’s selfish words, Hinata can’t help but feel relieved. If he does what he says he will do, and get Hinata to become a starter, he can finally play for Karasuno. Though Kageyama’s probably the worst person he’d ever met, if he can get Shouyou a starter position, it didn’t matter that he had a rotten personality. 

“Thank you.” Shouyou mumbles, not looking into Kageyama’s eyes. 

Then, Coach Ukai blows his whistle, signaling the end of practice. Hinata had never been so happy that practice is over. 

However, after walking back into the club room and changing, excitement starts to bubble up in Hinata’s chest. He can actually become a _starter_ , become an amazing player and make his former senpai proud. All he needs to do is deal with Kageyama, and his dream can come true. 

Hinata is practically skipping when he walks out of the club room and down the stairs, humming to himself happily. It’s dark outside, the street lights turned on, but he can still make out volleyball club members walking towards the school gates and making their way home. He spots Kageyama locking up the gymnasium doors and runs over to meet him. 

“Kageyama!” He yells, and skids to a halt beside him. “Hey, how exactly are you going to make me a better player? What practice techniques are we going to do?” He asks excitedly. 

Before Kageyama can open his mouth and most likely say something about him being a dumbass, a new voice speaks. 

“Yeah, Assistant Coach Kageyama, how are you going to help the shrimp become better at volleyball?” 

Both Kageyama and Hinata whip their heads around, watching as Yamaguchi and Tsukishima approach them. Shouyou scowls at Tsukishima as he smirks, crossing his arms. 

“Just ignore him, Hinata. He’s just being rude.” Yamaguchi says softly, shooting Tsukishima a warning look from the corner of his eye. Shouyou has noticed that he’s been getting better at standing up to Tsukishima’s mean words instead of encouraging them, much like he did when he was a first-year. He truly was a good choice for the captain of the team. 

“Hello, Assistant Coach Kageyama. Please excuse Tsukki’s rudeness. I just wanted to greet you personally, as the captain of Karasuno.” Yamaguchi smiles warmly, and Kageyama nods respectfully at him. 

“Oh, yes, please excuse my rudeness, _King_.” Tsukishima drones on, completely ignoring Tadashi’s full-out glare at him. 

Kageyama stiffens next to Shouyou. “What did you just call me?” 

“You’re the King of the Court, right?” Tsukishima asks innocently. “Please excuse us peasants. We’re not worthy of your presence.” 

“Don’t call me that.” Kageyama snarls, stepping up into Tsukishima’s face to scowl at him. “You’re the Tsukishima kid, right? Your brother was on my team.” Kageyama says coldly. “Or rather, he was just in the club. If I remember correctly, he didn’t even get _close_ to being a starter. They wouldn’t even let him sit on the bench.” 

Now it was Tsukishima’s turn to stiffen, glaring at Kageyama with absolute loathing. Yamaguchi stepped between them, ready to intervene, but both of them wouldn’t allow it. 

“It’s a good thing that he wasn’t a starter, or he wouldn’t have had to deal with _your_ dictatorship, King.” Tsukishima replies, matching the coldness of his voice to Kageyama’s. “Now, if _I_ recall, even the Small Giant refused to hit your tosses after a while. You were a lonely king, up on your throne all by yourself with no kingdom to rule.” 

Kageyama’s shaking by this point, but instead of yelling in Tsukishima’s smug face, Kageyama turns on his heel and walks away. The three third-years watch in amazed silence as the Assistant Coach’s back fades into the darkness. 

“Kageyama…” Hinata begins, wonder lacing his words. “Kageyama played with the Small Giant?” 

“He was the setter.” Tsukishima replies tensely, still watching the darkness that Kageyama disappeared into. “Everyone on the team hated him.” 

The hateful words that Tsukishima said flew right over Hinata’s head. “He played with the Small Giant. That’s so cool!” 

Hinata walked towards the gates, after saying goodbye to Yamaguchi, the words still bouncing around in his skull. He can still hear Tadashi and Tsukishima having a bitter argument behind them, but all of that is blocked out.

Kageyama played volleyball with his inspiration. He _had_ to find out more about the Small Giant from Kageyama. 

Suddenly, he couldn’t wait for morning practice tomorrow. 

He skipped away, the happiness that he had before refilling his chest as he unlocked his bike and began his ride home, the sound of the captain and co-captain arguing in the distance.

\----

The next morning, Hinata bikes as fast as his legs will allow to morning practice. Oddly enough, he can’t wait to see Kageyama. He was going to ask him _everything_. What was the Small Giant like, how exactly did he train so that Hinata could train the exact same way, what brand of shoes he wore during matches…

Finally, Hinata spotted Kageyama in the distance. He ran up to him at full speed, breathing heavily by the time he finally caught up to him. 

“Kageyama.” He breathes, resting his hands on his knees and bending over, trying to catch his breath. “Let’s talk about-” 

“We’ll start practicing today.” Kageyama replies tensely, not looking at the shorter boy. “I’ll meet you during your lunch period, is that okay?” 

“That’s fine, but Kageyama-”

“Start warming up for practice.” Is the only thing the taller boy replies, and unlocks the doors to the gym, walking in swiftly.

\----

Morning practice was extremely awkward. Kageyama refused to practice with him, so Hinata had to pair up with a nervous first-year who was better at receiving than him.

Every time the first-year would receive one of his tosses, the kid would stammer a shaky “S-Sorry, Hinata-senpai.” 

What the first-year was apologizing for, Hinata didn’t know, but all he knew was that he couldn’t receive the younger boy’s tosses at all. Whenever he would mess up the receive, the kid would stammer and apologize more profusely, which just frustrated Shouyou even more. 

All in all, practice wasn’t exactly what Hinata was planning. 

Later in the day, Kageyama and Hinata finally met up for practice during lunch, but that wasn’t what Hinata was planning either. Kageyama seemed unapproachable, his face still hard and distant from last night. They began in silence, Hinata practicing receives with Kageyama sending him easy-to-get tosses. 

He was doing way better than he was with the first-year, but it wasn’t any less uncomfortable. The silence was really grating on Hinata’s nerves, he just wanted Kageyama to spit out what was bothering him so that they could get onto the good stuff instead of boring receives. 

Finally, Hinata couldn’t stand the silence any longer. “Kageyama, can you just _tell_ me what’s wrong instead of pouting like a damn two-year old?”

Kageyama stops his tossing, holding onto the volleyball and glaring at Shouyou so harshly the smaller boy squeaks in alarm. 

“No, dumbass. I don’t want to talk to you.” He grits out, still glaring as he sends another toss, this one harder to receive. 

“But it’d make you feel better if you just talked to me about the Small Giant, y’know. Just… tell me everything about him. I won’t mind.” Hinata stares intensely at Kageyama. 

The Assistant Coach watches him for a while, then sighs, sending him another hard toss. 

“That Tsukishima brat was right.” He mumbles, not looking at Hinata. “I was called the King of the Court. I dictated my teammates, enough to make them hate me. The Small Giant was the one who held out the longest to my demands, but soon he just… stopped.” 

Hinata is quiet, waiting for Kageyama to say more. 

“After I graduated Karasuno High, I went on to go to Tokyo for college. When I went there, I changed. I realized that I can’t be a dictator, that eventually nobody would be there to deal with me after a while. I also realized that I don’t belong on a team.” He says, still avoiding Hinata’s eyes. “I don’t belong on a team," he repeats, "but I can still coach one. So, here I am.” 

_There’s his uncharacteristic honesty again,_ Hinata thinks, still watching Kageyama. Shouyou didn’t know if he should pity Kageyama or not. Then again, the taller boy doesn’t look like someone who appreciates pity. 

“Well,” Hinata begins, looking at Kageyama calmly, “the past is the past. There’s no use thinking about it now. You’re not the King anymore, so don’t let what that jerk Tsukishima said bother you.”

Kageyama finally meets his eyes, and for the first time, he’s not scowling. He’s not smiling exactly, but the lines in his brows fade. He looks so much younger when he does that, almost like he’s Hinata’s age. 

“Yeah.” Kageyama says shortly, and they continue on practicing.

\----

Later on in afternoon practice, Kageyama is finally starting to show him techniques. Before Hinata knows it, practice is over, and Coach Ukai is gathering them all up to say something before they are dismissed.

“Next week, we’re going to have a practice match with Nekoma.” The Coach says, looking around as excited whispers burst up from the group. “In this coming week, I will be watching your performances during practice and determine who will be the starters. That’s it, practice is dismissed.” 

Everyone walks in groups to the club room, talking in excited whispers about the practice match, and if they will get chosen as a starter. Before Shouyou can join them in walking to the club room, a hand grasps his forearm. 

“How badly do you want to be a starter for that game?” Kageyama’s voice asks from behind him, and Hinata feels all the air leave his lungs as he turns around and faces Kageyama. 

“Really badly.” Hinata replies, his voice dry. 

A slow grin spreads across Kageyama’s face, and it’s probably the most horrifying thing Hinata has ever seen. 

“Then get ready, shrimp. We’re going to get you to be a starter.” 

Hinata watches Kageyama’s creepy grin, then feels a less creepy one grow on his face in response. 

“It’s Hinata. Hinata Shouyou.” 

“Then get ready, dumbass Hinata. I’m going to coach you to death this coming week.” 

Assistant Coach Kageyama’s creepy grin stays with him his entire bike ride home, and even after he takes a bath and sneaks under the covers. 

_We’re going to get you to be a starter,_ he exclaims over and over again in the Shouyou's mind, and Hinata thinks he just might believe the older boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooooooo heres the disclaimer
> 
> tanaka's sister, tsukishima's brother, and the small giant are all around 21-22 years old, which is why i made kageyama 21 years old, because he went to school with them
> 
> however, that was canon while hinata was a first year. hinata's a third-year in this story, so if it were to make sense, kageyama would be 23-24 years old because i'd have to age them up too
> 
> buuuuuuuuuuut i didnt. i don't know, i guess i could have made the age gap larger than 4 years, but i just didn't. i guess it's too late now, i said kageyama was 21 in the last chapter, so just know that this story isn't exactly aligned with the canon ages for them. but hey, it's an AU. i can do what i want. 
> 
> anywAYS! thank you for reading, your support means a lot and inspires me to write more!


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